Cyprian of Carthage

Monergist Father: Cyprian of Carthage

The monergism of Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage (200–258):
Cyprian affirmed the sovereignty of God over every aspect of life. He writes: “‘Thy will be done in heaven as it is on earth,’ not that God may do what He wishes, but that we may be able to do what God wishes. For who stands in the way of God’s doing what He wishes? . . .” Here Cyprian maintained that God is supreme over the will of man and Satan in all things. . . . Cyprian clearly taught the radical corruption of the human soul. Augustine observed that Cyprian confessed original sin. Calvin later repeated Cyprian’s words, “Let us glory in nothing, because nothing is ours,” then paraphrased Cyprian with these words: “If there is nothing good in us; if man, from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot, is wholly sin; if it is not even lawful to try how far the power of the will extends,—how can it be lawful to share the merit of a good work between God and man?” This is a summary of Cyprian’s position on radical depravity. . . . Cyprian also asserted the doctrine of sovereign election in the salvation of sinners. He declared that believers are “elected to hope, consecrated to faith, destined to salvation, sons of God, brethren of Christ, associates of the Holy Spirit, owing nothing any longer to the flesh.” Election, he maintained, is the root of every spiritual blessing. . . . Finally, Cyprian believed that a true believer can never be separated from Christ. His salvation is eternally secure. Cyprian writes, “Thus there is nothing that can separate the union between Christ and the Church, that is, the people who are established within the Church and who steadfastly and faithfully persevere in their beliefs: Christ and His Church must remain ever attached and joined to each other by indissoluble love.” Again, citing Romans 8:35, he writes: “As it is written: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trial or tribulation or persecution or hunger or nakedness or peril or sword? None of these can separate those who believe, none can prize away those who cling to His body and blood.” These are clear affirmations of the eternal security of believers. Cyprian taught that those who depart from the faith were never truly in Christ. He states: “For it is not possible for a man to perish unless it is plainly evident that perish he must, since the Lord says in His own Gospel: Every planting which My heavenly father has not planted will be rooted out. Accordingly, whoever has not been planted in the precepts and counsels of God the Father, will alone be able to depart from the Church. . . . But all the others, through the mercy of God the Father, the compassion of Christ our Lord and our own patience, will be reunited with us.” He adds: “Those who withdraw from Christ have only themselves to blame for their own destruction, whereas the Church, which believes in Christ and holds fast to the teachings it has learned, never departs from Him in any way. . . . They are the Church who remain in the house of the Lord.” Those who are truly born again cannot leave the fold permanently. —Steven J. Lawson, Pillars of Grace (Reformation Trust, 2011), 133–137.